Five quick hits — eye-gouging, elbows and Queensland has a flying Hammer

Source : ABC NEWS

Queensland survived a ferocious comeback from NSW to level the State of Origin series and force a decider in Sydney. 

The Maroons had a 20-point lead at half-time as the Blues imploded.

By the time the full-time whistle sounded, it was only the Blues’ poor kicking that denied them victory.

Here are the five quick hits from State of Origin II at Perth Stadium.

1. Angus Crichton uses soccer skills to give NSW the first try

Queensland needed to make a bright start in Perth to put the demons of game one to bed. 

The Maroons managed the exact opposite, with new captain Cam Munster kicking his first grubber dead, giving away a six-again restart on the last tackle — then after surviving that, Tino Fa’asuamaleaui turned the ball over in the defensive half.

It put the Blues in the ascendancy, and they converted the early dominance with the game’s opening try after seven minutes.

The try was credited to Penrith winger Brian To’o, but the four-pointer was created by two excellent kicks.

Jarome Luai, called in following an injury to game one five-eighth Mitchell Moses, played a deft grubber kick for chasing second-rower Angus Crichton.

The star forward then showed off some foot skills that would not look out of place in the A-League. Seeing To’o unmarked, Crichton put in a little soccer pass to the in-goal for his winger to chase and touch down.

2. Queensland’s scoring woes solved by Hammer Time

Queensland’s ability to score in recent times has been a massive struggle.

The Maroons had not scored a try in the first half of an Origin match since the first game of the 2024 series. After going down early, the Queenslanders needed to lift — and they did.

Queensland scored on their first set with the ball after conceding, helped by a trio of six-again restarts as the Blues suffered from poor discipline.

The weight of possession and pressure led to Queensland’s first try, as Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow went over in the right corner untouched at the end of a nice Queensland move. That was the Hammer’s 10th try in his ninth Origin, the fastest any player has managed to get to 10 State of Origin tries.

Seven minutes later, The Hammer had his 11th try in Origin football.

An excellent kick from halfback Tom Dearden to the corner was met by a leaping Tabuai-Fidow, who beat To’o in an aerial contest, to snatch the ball out of the air and score to give Queensland the lead.

3. Eye-gouging and elbows as NSW lose their cool 

The Blues were near faultless in game one at Lang Park to take a 1-0 series lead.

But in Perth, with a chance to win the series and head to Sydney with dreams of a whitewash, the Blues lost their cool in the first half.

They gave up eight penalties in the first half, while the Maroons were not penalised once. In fairness, the Blues were lucky not to have at least one player sent to the sin bin.

Jarome Luai was put on report in the 23rd minute for putting his fingers in the eyes of Queensland forward Reuben Cotter. 

The footage captured on the Nine Network broadcast was not flattering for the NSW five-eighth, who appeared to have his fingers dug into Cotter’s eyes.

NSW winger Zac Lomax was the next to be placed on report, after throwing an elbow into the head of Queensland lock Trent Loiero.

Lomax had the ball and was getting ready to stand to his feet and play the ball. He then, inexplicably, threw his elbow back and connected with the side of Loiero.

That penalty was directly linked to points for the Maroons, as Valentine Holmes kicked a goal off that penalty.

4. To’o scores a hat-trick after Hammer commits a shocking error

NSW had got themselves back into the contest with a second try to To’o, then a terrific individual effort from Stephen Crichton to run over Valentine Holmes for a score. 

With momentum with the Blues, the Queenslanders needed to find some spark — and for a moment, they did. 

A magnificent defensive effort pinned the Blues deep in their own end.

Luai kicked the ball away from inside his own 20m line. 

But Queensland’s effort was all in vain as Tabuai-Fidow attempted to stop the bouncing ball with his foot. The ball instead bounced up and hit The Hammer on the arm for a knock-on. 

Off the next set, To’o barged over for his third try in the match, to have NSW believing in a famous win. 

5. Goal kicking again costs the Blues

The goal kicking in the first match at Lang Park was poor. NSW scored four tries in their 18-6 win, but none of those tries were converted. The only successful kick was a penalty goal for Nathan Cleary. 

Zac Lomax was given goal kicking duties in game two as Cleary appeared to have an issue with his kicking leg. 

Unfortunately for Lomax, all of the Blues’ five tries on Wednesday night were scored near the sideline. 

In miserable conditions, they were never going to be easy. 

Lomax was able to convert just two of his five attempts — leaving six points out there.

NSW scored five tries to four and were irresistible in the second half.

But the poor goal kicking denied NSW a historic win, and wrapping up the series in two matches.